A Breaking Point
by Sony89
Summary: "I'm not in the mood for Pizza." - As soon as Mikey said this, his family knew that something was wrong. (A Mikey/Family Two-Shot)


A Breaking Point

I always imagined that Mikey had a breaking point – and I imagined the situation to play out somehow like this:

„I'm not in the mood for Pizza."

With these words, Mikey achieved something that he had never achieved before – he had shocked his brothers, April, Casey and his Sensei at the same time.  
Their shock gave him the time to stand up from the couch and vanish into his room, but not without shutting the door with a loud bang.

The pizzaboxes slipped from Raphs grip.  
„Did that just happen?", he asked, exchanging looks with his brothers.

Normally, when Mikey said he was not hungry, Donnie assumed automatically that their youngest brother was sick.

But they had never heard him say that he was not in the mood for _the pizza_. As he had once said, he did not make jokes about _the pizza._  
Additionally, it was not only the fact that he had uttered this impossible sentence, but the way how he had said it as well.

It had not been nonchalant. It had been a sentence pressed through gritted teeth. A sentence uttered with withheld anger. Mikey had been about to explode with emotions – and not in a good way.

Splinter was the one to pick up the conversation, watching his sons closely.

"My sons. Would either of you mind telling me what is wrong with Michaelangelo?"

Leo found his voice first. April slowly picked up the pizza boxes, while casting concerned glances at Mikeys door.

"I-I'd really like to tell you Sensei, but honestly, I've got no idea.

"I've never seen him this way, have you?", Donnie asked.

Raph crossed his arms in front of his plastron and sighed. "I don't like this."

Before a plan of action could be set up, Mikey came back out of his room.

The aura around him was like electricity. Any sudden movement, any false word could make Mikey explode. April, sensitive to these things, even cringed and took two steps back.

Mikey had strapped his skateboard onto his shell and made his way to the entrance withouth so much as a glance at his brothers.

"Michaelangelo."

Mikey stopped at the sound of his name, his back to his family.  
They all saw that he took a calming breath before turning his neck and looking over his left shoulders.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

Again, his brothers, April and Casey exchanged glances, getting more worried by the second. They were not used to Mikey talking so little. And they especially were not used to him looking like his temper might get the better of him at any second.  
But Master Splinter was not intimidated.

"May I ask why?"

"You're joking, right?"

Leo gasped, Donnie gulped and Raph lifted his hairless brows.  
Did he really just say that?

"I assure you, I am not. And I do not like this disrespectful tone, my son."

Mikey seemed to consider. He took another deep breath, before turning around, clenching his fists.

"I am sorry, Sensei. I did not mean to be disrespectful to you."

He finally lifted his face, shooting glares at his three brothers.  
They were so surprised, for a second they had the itch to get into a defensive stance.

"To answer your question: I am going outside, because if I don't, I will either start to cry my heart out, or hitting my brothers."

None of them had expected an answer like this.

At the end, after a few angsty heartbeats, Donnie finally spoke.

"I don't understand."

Raphael was about to open his mouth, but Mount Mikey finally erupted.

"OH NO! You don't get to say anything!"

"Mikey, what-", Leo did not get far either.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear the two of you talking! Just... Shut up, alright?!"

Raph and Leo looked at each other, at a loss. Had they done something to anger their brother? Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the last few days.

Upon looking at his brothers clueless faces, Mikey started laughing – but not in a way that sounded like he had fun.

"You guys really don't know why I'm angry, right?"

He looked all of his friends and family in the eye, and even Splinter shook his head.

Mikeys shoulders tensed, as Raph dared to open his mouth.

"Mikey, have we done something to upset you?"

"You could say that..."

"But-", said Leo, "what? I can't think of anything. Have we insulted you in any way? We haven't done anything out of the ordinary lately..."

"That's just it, isn't it? All of the stuff you say and do is starting to get ordinary.."

"Mikey..."

"I just can't take it anymore, alright?! I'm sick of it."

"Sick of WHAT?!", Raph finally shouted, and immediately regretted it. Mikey had reached his breaking point. And he broke down into sobs and tears.

April was the first and only one to run to him and hug him. The others somehow did not dare.

They did not hear what she was whispering in his ears as she hugged him, helped him up and disappeared back into his room again.

"This may take a while.", Splinter finally said. "We may as well eat, my sons. Michaelangelo is in good hands."

Splinter sat down to eat, but it was obvious that he was as worried about Michaelangelo as his brothers and Casey.

The boys opened the pizzaboxes and began to eat, but they did so without appetite.

It almost took April an hour before she came back out of Mikeys room. And she was alone. And they could see from afar that she was almost as angry ans Mikey had been before.

"You guys...", she said, especially looking at Raph and Leo, ".. _really_ screwed up this time."

She hopped onto the couch, crossed her legs, her arms before her chest, and glared holes at them.

"April, would you please explain what has my son so upset? I do not like to see him like this."

Apparently, April was happy to oblige.

"Mikey was upset, and still is, because your sons have been shouting at each other. Again."

Raph blinked in confusion.

"Wait, that's it? He threw a fit because Leo and I had a fight? We fight almost everyday!"

"That's the point!", April shouted.

"Mikey told me that every time you two fight, every time you two shout at each other, it hurts him."

Master Splinter seemed to catch on pretty fast, Donnie needed a little longer to understand, his face changed from a confused to a sad one.

"I still don't understand.", Leo said.

"He hates seeing you guys fighting. He's afraid one day one of you will do something or say something you can't take back and it will break up the only family he has."

Slowly, steadily, the words sank in and it finally made sense.  
They had had a small bicker during morning training. Two days ago, a bigger fight.

"Is that what he meant by it's getting ordinary?", asked Leo, his voice a whisper.

"Apparently", April said, finally also reaching for a slice of Pizza, "he hates that your fights are getting more and more regular. And I agree. You guys fight about stuff that isn't even worth a second thought. And poor Mikey didn't say anything, because every time he tries to mediate between you two, he gets a Shut up, Mikey, in return."

Aprils gaze turned to Donnie, who already knew what was coming. "And the fact that you never do anything to stop them and hide yourself in your lab, and tell him they'll come around eventually, doesn't make it any better, Donnie."

Master Splinter stood up, sighing.

"This is my fault.", he said.

"I should have sensed his troubles sooner."

The brothers looked at each other.

"We really screwed up this time, didn't we?", asked Donnie.

"What can we do?"

Leo sat down next to his brother and sighed.

"We should stop trying to push each others buttons so often, for starters."

"I think it is obvious what needs to be done, my sons.", Splinter said.

"April, thank you for taking care of Michaelangelo. I think we will be able to take the situation from here."

April stood up, understanding that she was dismissed. And quite frankly, she did not want to help this time. It was their mess – they had to clean it up.

"No problem, Sensei."

She turned around, ready to leave the lair with Casey.

"But if you guys ever make Mikey cry like that again, I'll kick your shells so hard, you'll all get a nosebleed. He is my brother too."

TO BE CONTINUED!

At first it was meant as a one-shot – but a little cliffhanger never hurt noone ;)


End file.
